Damien King clinched his maiden Drop Knee World Title

King had to advance through his quarter-final match-up against Ardiel Jiminez (CNY) to gain enough points over multiple DK World champ Dave Hubbard (Lihue / HAW) and 2010 DK World champ, Cesar Bauer (PER) to secure the title.

With just over one minute remaining, King needed a solid score of 6.8 to progress. As he took off on what looked to be the best wave of the heat, the crowd held their breath and rose to their feet, but unexpectedly, king lost his balance and fell.

« I wanted to give up a few times in that heat, especially towards the end. I was always one step behind from the start, » King explained. « When I paddled back after falling on that last big one, I thought it was over. I was so tired, but refused to give up. »

With only seconds to go, King managed to find a bowly inside left and did one of the most critical backside turns of the day, earning him enough to clinch the win.

« I paddled so hard to get into that left, but once I saw the cup on the end of it, I knew it was on. I was on my backhand, so I just gave my all. I actually almost pushed too hard and lost it, but managed to hang on. I was not sure if I was going to get the score. »

The Judges deemed it a 6.9 out of a possible 10 points, pushing King into the lead as the siren signaled the end of the heat.

King dedicated the win to his father in-law Jimbo, who had been traveling to events with him for the past few months.

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